A recent report ‘The state of the nation–demand and supply of language skills in the UK’ by Teresa Tinsley for the British Academy, provides a wealth of valuable information on the current state of languages in the UK. In one section focusing on language provision in schools, the report highlights how the situation with regards to studying a foreign language in schools in England has changed quite rapidly over the last few years. Currently, 92% of Primary schools in England offer languages to their pupils compared to only 56% in 2007. This percentage has grown quite considerably as a result of the National Languages Strategy. In comparison, in Secondary which traditionally used to be the place where pupils were first expected to learn languages, the situation has declined quite considerably. Although learning a language is still compulsory at Key Stage 3 for pupils in maintained schools, the numbers in Key Stage 4 have dropped quite rapidly following the announcement in 2004 that studying a foreign language was optional. The consequence of this decision has been that in 2011 only 43% of secondary aged pupils studied a modern language at Key Stage 4 compared to 78% in 2001. Furthermore, the stark reality is that only 14% of pupils eligible for free school meals (FSM) obtained a good GCSE pass in a foreign language compared to 31% of all state school pupils.[1] In addition, it is also worth noting that there are approximately 1 million pupils in schools in England for whom English is an additional language. The School Level Annual School Census (SLASC) 2011 reveals over 360 different languages are spoken by our children and young pupils. That equates to 17.5% of the primary school aged population and 12.9% of secondary. The term English as an additional language covers a wide range of pupils from those who are new to English to those children who speak English alongside other languages that are spoken in the home or community environment. Although, there is no doubt that English is a globally dominant language and benefits readily accrue to those who are proficient it in, it should be noted that being monolingual is not the norm as over half of the world’s population is bilingual. Sadly, even today there are many myths associated with bilingualism, particularly in countries where monilingualism is still the norm. This can get in the way of understanding that bilingualism is an asset and that it should be promoted in a classroom and school context rather than being seen as a ‘problem’ that gets in the way of learning. In England, there is no reason why children cannot learn English alongside other languages and have high levels of competency across all four language skills of speaking, listening, reading in both. We strongly feel that more could be done to promote the learning of languages – both as a foreign language in school and for children who speak another language at home and within the community. The benefits for children and young people developing a high level of proficiency in two or more languages are many and backed by research. We at Equitable Education have selected an infographic on the benefits of bilingualism for teachers to use. This infographic present a lot of useful facts in a visually attractive way. It can be used for discussion with other professionals within school so that a better understanding of the benefits of bilingualism, based on academic research is gained or to positively promote the learning of languages to all pupils. It can also be used as part of a display or as a stimulus to get your pupils to produce their own by using one of the many infographic tools that are now available. This would allow you to custom make your own infographic to fit your own local circumstances. Equitable Education will be producing an infographic on bilingualism based on the context in England over the coming few weeks, so keep a look out for it. In the meantime, we hope you enjoy this one we have specially selected for you below, courtesy of voxy.com.

[1]Source ‘The state of the nation –demand and supply of language skills in the UK by Teresa Tinsley for the British Academy, February 2013.

Leave a Reply.

Equitable Education

Equitable Education's blog keeps you updated with the latest news and developments in closing the gaps in education. We regularly share best practice materials and case studies of proven strategies to close the education gaps, along with the latest research from the UK and internationally.

The blog is written by Sameena Choudry and the views are entirely her own or of her co-authors when written with colleagues.